


May the Spirit choose wisely

by CamiWeaver



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Colony, Crimson Children, Eligius III, Eligius IV, Eligius V, F/F, F/M, Il'aye, Nightbloods, they are not back from the dead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-08-04 00:47:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16336559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CamiWeaver/pseuds/CamiWeaver
Summary: Set after season 5, when they arrive to the new planet, Il'aye. After Lexa's death things go a little different, there is a conclave, there is a second apocalypse, a bunker, a valley and a prison ship. There is no Blood Reina, no addict-Abby and a few people might not be dead.What happens when people aboard the ship realise they are only guests on the only livable planet they know of?First fanfic, so bare with me :)





	1. Before Praimfaya

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter might be a little hectic, sorry about that :) I just want to sum up the changes to the original story to be able to start on what is next.

Clarke was sitting in her new room, staring at the wall, but not seeing it. In front of her eyes, the past day’s events played on replay, always stopping on the emerald green eyes that no longer held the stars.

A knock on the door shook her out of her miserable staring.

"Enter!" she called, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

The guard pushed the door open.

" Wanheda! The Nightblidas sent me to deliver a message." he looked at her with knowing eyes, and she recognised him as Rarik, one of Lexa’s regular guards at her quarters. "The conclave is about to start, and they insist on your presence. Aden specifically ordered me to tell you, that you might see something you like."

Clarke didn’t know what to make of that. She always thought highly of Aden, and she really doubted that the boy though she would enjoy watching children slaughter each other. She knew Lexa was working on changing the ways of the conclave, but she never mentioned anything to indicate that she succeeded.

She contemplated not showing up, but the thought of staying locked up in the tower was suffocating. She wanted to show her support to Aden, and she still worried about Ontari. The woman showed up two nights ago and literally tried to assassinate the Nightblidas in their sleep. The guards managed to stop her before she reached them, but because she was a Nightblida herself, she could not be killed. Upon Titus’ request she was released shortly after, and Clarke would have been outraged if she wasn’t so utterly exhausted.

When she arrived at the outskirts of Polis, with her guards in tow, she saw the training grounds surrounded by the people of the capital and probably more from the surrounding areas, all wanting to witness the rise of the new commander. On the podium most of the clan leaders were already seated, including Kane and Abby, both of whom wore a concerned impression.

Just as Rarik directed her towards the podium, Abby’s eyes found her and she shot out of her seat to welcome her and pull her into a hug. Clark didn’t held onto her mother, she was Wanheda after all, but Abby seemed to understand. She simply nodded and guided her towards Kane.

The murmur of the crowd died down when the Nighblidas lined up in front of the podium, all in warrior gear and Lexa’s warpaint on their faces. It sent shivers down Clarke’s spine. Only after the initial shock did she notice, that Ontari was not amongst them.

Titus stood in front of the conclave.

"Nightblidas! The time has come for the Spirit of the Commander to move on, and today we bow our heads to Lexa kom Trikru and thank the Gods, that her Spirit can live on in one of you. May the Spirit choose wisely!"

The Nightblidas bow their head together with everyone around to pay their respect to their former Heda. Clarke let slip of a single tear, and as she lifted her eyes to Aden, she found him already looking at her. He nodded his head and turned away.

The Azgeda delegation was sitting right next to Skaikru. Roan, king of Azgeda leaned over to Clark.

"I didn’t think you would want to see this." Although he was teasing, Clarke saw the sincerity in his expression. "She was working against the conclave you know" he continued "it is a shame that her death erased the promises of the ambassadors."  
"What do you mean?"  
"She made them promise that even before she can formally change the conclave, they would support her notion and would allow the Nightblidas to fight for the Spirit without having to kill their brothers and sisters." he explained in hushed tones.  
"They believe they do not have to keep that promise any more – the realisation dawn to her."  
"No. This has always been how the Spirit was passed on. Most of them believe that if more than one Nightblida survived, the Spirit would be weaker."

They could not continue their conversation longer, as gasps from the audience forced them to look at the Nightblidas.

Clarke expected that some of the young ones were already dead, so her eyes went wide when he saw them stand in a circle holding hands. Just as on a cue, they kneeled to the ground and prayed:

"Spirit of Commander  
Please have mercy on me  
Guide me to see you  
Before it is too late

Spirit of Commander  
Shine through one of us  
And let Nightblood flourish  
Through all the days to come

Spirit of Commander  
I swear to protect you  
My loyalties always,  
Forever lye with you!"

With that they all stood and Aden moved to the middle of the circle. Whatever the conclave should have looked like, Clarke was sure that the way it was coming along was not something any of the bystanders saw before. People kept glancing at Titus, some of the ambassadors were raging in their seats, the Broadleaf Clan’s leader was held in place buy some of the Commander’s guards who, on Titus’ orders, were trying to prevent the small number Broadleaf warriors to march into the arena and attack the Nightblidas for not fulfilling their duties to choose the next Commander.

In the meanwhile Aden stood patiently and watched as one of the youngests of the novitiates took a stand in front of him. The girl couldn’t have been more than 9 and Clark was sure she didn’t stand a chance. To her utter surprise, she draw her blade and took steady stepps forwards Aden. When she reached him, she took her blade and sliced her palm, black blood instantly spilling to the ground. She lifted her blodied hand to Aden’s face and added a new extension to the war paint, then stepped back and kneeled in front of him and offered him the sword.

Aden stood regally and commanded her to rise. With a nod the girl took her place in the circle again, and waited the next one to step forward.

Some of the ambassadors had to be escorted off the podium, while others watched with various excitement as the Nightblidas continued their way of the conclave. Clarke could see from the corner of her eyes that Luna, the leader of the Boat People and the only living Nightblida from the previous conclave stared at the children with tears in her eyes. She turned her face to the man next to her and whispered ‘This should have been us’. He didn’t answer, just took her hand a squeezed it. Clarke watched the exchange knowing that Luna fled her conclave after she was forced to kill her own brother. She knew that was the reason why Lexa never allowed Titus to go after her.

Luna’s suddenly serious face made her look back to the conclave. Four of them bowed to Aden so far, but the next boy was clearly not in agreement with them. He did slice his palm like the others, but instead of moving closer to Aden, he draw it across his own face and stood tall across from Aden, who nodded in acknowledgement and draw his own sword. And the first fight of the conclave begun.

Clarke thought ‘this was too good to be true’ as she watched the boys deliver lethal blows after lethal bows. She held back her breath when Dez fell on his back and Aden held the blade of his sword across his neck. To her, and everyone else’ surprise Dez closed his eyes and nodded, and Aden lifted his blade. With a swift movement he pulled Dez to his feet. Trin, the first girl to bow to Aden offered him a bowl of water and Dez swiftly washed off his war paint and did as all the others before him: bowed to Aden.

Within the hour the crowd saw three fights and Aden rose victorious. Before Titus could even start to declare the new commander, a part of the crowd split in two and a lone figure walked to the arena. All the Nightblidas stood tall and in front of Aden while the commander’s guards run to aid them against the lone, hooded person.

When the hood came off, the crowd gasped. Ontari stood strong and challenging, eyeing Aden through the bodies that separated him from her.

"You may have defeated the cowards by now, but the conclave is not over!" she yelled.  
"Lead that traitor away!" came Titus’ commanding voice, but the guards hesitated. She was a Nightblida after all, who was yet to challenge Aden.  
"No!" Aden’s voice carried as the crowd fell silent. "she has the right to try."

The smirk that played along the lips of the boy reminded Clarke so much of Lexa, and the first time in 3 days, she let herself smile just a little.

The guards took their places around the arena again, and the other novitiates stood nervously on the side, while Ontari and Aden started to circle each other in the centre. Clark knew that this was the only fight that mattered today. She also knew that no matter what, one of the two will die today.

The fight was even, and long. They both suffered multiple injuries, painting the ground black beneath them. Aden looked exhausted, and as Clarke watched him limping in the sickeningly slow dance with the Azgeda she could feel that the end was coming.

Ontari decided to strike again and her blows seemed harder and harder to withhold. With a quick set of carefully maneuvered hits she got Aden to lose his last sword and kicked him to the ground. The distance between them was no more than a few feet and though she could have simply walk over to the heaving boy she let out a war scream and lounged forward with an animalistic roar. Clarke watched with horror as she jumped and lifted her sword to run it through the boy.

Time slowed down and she could not look away. Aden rolled from in front of the blade the last second and kicked out Ontari’s legs from under her. With a speed he should not have had he jumped to his feet and stabbed an all too familiar dagger into Ontari’s exposed neck. Black blood splashing and covering his face almost instantly as the girls stumbled to the ground, with an otherworldly surprise in her blank eyes.

 

 

"Aden kom Trishanakru, Heir to Beka Promheda, Successor to Lexa kom Trikru!"

Titus was standing in the throne room announcing the new commander to the representatives of the 13 clans.

Aden held his head high as he walked in to recite the lineage, the Nightblidas all following him. His injuries were visible, but his eyes were shining. At the end of the ceremony he stood infront of his throne, looking down on his people, all kneeling by his feet.

"Rise!" his voice was a little uncertain, but the people rose nonetheless. "Hail, warriors of the 13 clans!" he said a little stronger.  
"Hail, Commander of the Blood!" The answer came in unison.

Once everyone left the room he slumped against his throne exhausted. He knew he was going to have the hardest time of his life to keep the Coalition afloat. And he didn’t know just how much harder it was becoming right that moment.

 

 

Raven was going through some information Skaikru sensors were collecting from various clans – the ones that were perceptive of Skaikru being part of the coalition. Some of the outer clans reported a mysterious illness that took a toll on them and Abby insisted that the described symptoms were identical to radiation poisoning.

"But aren’t the grounders immune to radiation?" argued Raven.  
"An increased level of exposure could still cause these symptoms." said Abby.

She was concerned as she could not think of any other disease that would match the markers. Seeing it first-hand what happened to the Mountain Men she was certain that the two bodies that were sent to her for examination from the Desert Clan faced a similar faith. The only thing she couldn’t wrap her head around was, where the extra radiation could come from.

The first thing Skaikru asked from the new commander was to be allowed to investigate the issue, and of course Aden complied. He did have a soft spot for the ambassador of Skaikru after all and he needed to keep the few loyal clans happy to help him solidify his rule. So Raven, Monty, Jasper and Bellamy accompanied by a few Trikru and Trishanakru soldiers took off to the Desert Clan to find the source of the radiation.

The team marched straight to Polis with their findings and were stopped just outside the throne room where the ambassadors were meeting

"Commander, this is ridiculous, you cannot possibly ask Rock Line to simply hand over the bounty to the Blue Cliff Clan?!" they heard the argument through the doors  
"Of course he can!" sounded another, smug voice. "He is the commander after all." the mocking tone felt out of place, even for the listening Skaikru.  
"He is all but a child for God’s sake!" exclaimed the first speaker.  
"You will not disrespect the commander like that!" Indra sounded tired, more tired than they ever heard.  
"It sounds like not everyone is on board with the kid-commander butting in in their business, huh?" smiled Raven. The comment got a few glares from both Trikru and Trishanakru warriors.

The meeting was ended shortly after and a few visibly raging ambassadors stormed through the small group waiting in the hall.

"Guys!" exclaimed Clarke when she spotted them waiting in the door. "You are back! We thought you will head to Arkadia first and radio in…" she trailed off, eyeing them suspiciously.  
"We didn’t think it can wait." said Bellamy.  
"All right, come in!" Clarke said, furrowing her brow.

She took in the small contingent as they took the seats around the table after bowing to Aden. He looked much older than on the day of his conclave, yet still too small and fragile on the throne.

"Where is O and Linkoln?" asked Clarke.

The group exchanged sad looks and in the end Raven decided to answer.

"Well, it is part of the reason we came straight here. Linkoln is dead." Clarke was not the only one snapping her head up; Indra and Aden also focused on Raven now.  
"What? And O?"  
"She had to go off on her own for a bit" said Bellamy quietly.

And so Raven went on to explain them all how they found an old power plant on the far border of the Desert clan, and found out that the plant was melting down quickly. Linkoln volunteered to scout the plant and by the time he managed to stumble out of the building the radiation poisoning was too severe. It didn’t take long for Raven and Monty to set up a simulation including all the known reactors from before the bombs fell and what would happen to them without maintenance for so long.

"What does this mean?" asked Aden, trying to make sense of the mostly technical jargon the Skaigirl was telling them.  
"It means" said Raven, with a resigned and lost expression "that the nuclear power plants across the globe are breaking down. And once all the protective layers of their buildings give in, a burning wave of radiation will swipe us all out."

The room fell silent for minutes.

"How much time do we have?" whispered Clarke.  
"6 month at best."

 

 

Aden discussed this information that he could barely comprehend for days with his advisors and Skaikru before he brought it in front of the other clans. People were afraid, and the only good that came out of it was that the clans most opposing Aden’s leadership ceased to send assassins to take him out. Everyone was trying to come up with an idea to save their people.

"How is Aden holding up?" asked Rave one night, sitting in Clarke’s room going over and over the notes from the ark about possible bunkers around their location.  
"He is spent. It is crazy how many people blame him for not being able to figure this out. I mean, he is only 15 for f**ck’s sake!" she exclaimed. "All of Arkadia is working on this crap, and they blame the kid for not saving their ass."  
"Isn’t Titus supposed to be some kind of a barrier between the poor kid and the raging clan leaders? I saw what went down before we arrived with the news. Indra sounded exhausted"

Clarke looked up at her, with a half smile on her face before she could school her expression.

"Aden had Titus arrested and killed. She is filling in."  
"What? When?"  
"Not long after you left for the desert." said Clarke nonchalantly. "He said a subject that murders his own commander cannot be allowed to live."  
"Wow, I didn’t think the kid had it in him."  
"Me neither. And to do it with the traditional Trikru way to honour the last commander…"

Raven looked at her a bit worried. Lexa’s name was a taboo for all Skaikru lately, unless they wanted to lose Clarke for the day.

"A thousand cuts? Doesn’t that mean he had to…" Raven trailed off when she saw Clarke nod quietly.

Their saviour came in the face of the new Flaimkeepa and an old half-record of a secret bunker that was ordered by one of the billionaires of the old world. They didn’t know if it ever got built, but it was their last chance. The refugees fleeing the radiation were already overflowing the streets of Polis.

Gaia, the new Flaimkeepa told Aden a legend of Beka Promheda, that described the first Commander telling all the Nightblidas that if the world would end again, they will have a way to survive and save their people, they just have to look in the flames and find the key that rose from the ashes.

The bunker that laid right under the tower was amazing, but the 1400 people it could contain was an issue Aden had to figure out. His still weak position did not grant him a chance to find a diplomatic way of agreeing with the clans. More and more ambassadors supported an eye for an eye approach and believed that only the strong should have a place in the bunker.

When the Plains Riders’ leader suggested to hold a conclave with the strongest warriors of each clan to decide which one of the 13 gets to move into the bunker, more than half of the ambassadors agreed. Aden was going to raise and oppose this, but Indra softly pushed him back to his throne. Three of the Nightblidas were murdered in the last few month, and the clans clearly felt like they were deprived of their right to see the commander rise from the conclave.

She didn’t how the fight would go, but one thing she knew. Aden needed time to prove himself as the commander and right now, he would only be risking his life by opposing them

Kane, Abby and Clarke were debating all night to decide on a Skaikru champion. Clarke wanted to take the spot and hope that Wanheda can succeed once again. Abby, of course, rejected the idea immediately, but Kane had to consider it.

"With Octavia gone, we do not have a choice. Clarke is the only one that has the slightest idea about grounder fighting techniques. And they all fear her."

"I don’t care, Kane. This is suicide!" by then tears were springing into Abby’s eyes from desperation.

"Mom…" Clarke’s arms encircled her and pulled her into a tight hug.

The action shocked Abby since she could barely touch Clarke since the commander’s death. Nobody could.

"Don’t do this, please!" begged Abby, while Kane tactfully excused himself to give them a minute.  
"I have to. Who else would you think has even a little chance?"

Abby ignored the question.

"I don’t want you to use this to take the easy way out." she said quietly. As she lifted her eyes to her daughter she saw the shadow of guilt flash though her features. "I know you."

Clarke watched quietly as her mother let down her walls and revealed the broken parent behind the mask.

"I am sorry, mom." Clarke whispered and tears started to flow down her cheeks.

She thought she hid her pain well enough that people could not see through her. She hoped they saw a leader tiring herself to find a way to save her people. But her mother saw her for what she was. A mourning girl at the edge of breaking apart.

"Oh, baby. Don’t be!"  
"I loved her, mom." Clarke sobbed into her mother’s embrace.  
"I know, honey. I know."

In the end, Clarke did not have to place the survival of Skaikru into Wanheda’s hands. Just before dawn, a small dark figure entered the city and marched right to the arena that would be used for the conclave.  
Octavia.

The girl who once chased glowing butterflies in the forest was completely gone. The dark look of Skairipa was only holding a slim resemblance to that of the girl under the floor.

To most of the clans’ surprise Octavia won the conclave.

But before anyone could have even attempt to sabotage Skaikru from taking the bunker, she walked over to Aden, nodded her head briefly to Indra, and fell on her knees. She lifted her sword drenched in blood and swore fealty to Aden. With that she handed him a weapon, a way to claim his rightful place as the leader of all the clans.

The conclave was followed by a stressful few days, as the clans decided among themselves who will be allowed to take the 100 places in the bunker allocated for their clan.  
In the meantime Arkadia was moving most of their technology into the bunker, and a small group led the last errand to the research lab they came across on one of the islands of the lake people.

The firsts of the black rain arrived, and the clouds that carried the radioactive rain covered the planet in darkness. The solar panels of the rover gave up soon, making it impossible for the team to return to Polis in time.

And so fighting with the elements 6 of them managed to take off in a space ship to spend the next years on the rig eating Monty’s algae, while Clarke remained on Earth.


	2. Monty's plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's wake the crew, shall we?

Clarke was sitting alone deep in thought, her mind running through everything that just happened. She woke from her cryo-sleep only a few hours before, but her head was so full as if she had been trying to listen to Raven talk about explosives for the last week. The day was an experience to say the least.

When she woke, she expected to have company, so she was relieved to see Bellamy’s chamber opening a few places from hers. But it didn’t ease her nerves looking at Madi’s still very much frozen pod. She momentarily believed that she might still be sleeping and having a strange cryo-dream when a young man walked into the cryo-room that she has never met in her life. What the hell did she know about cryo-sleep anyway…

"Hi!" – smiled the stranger, his smile bearing an odd familiarity. - "I’m Jordan."

Bellamy and Clarke exchanged a confused look: is that name supposed to help here?

"I am not very good at this I guess" – said Jordan partly to himself. - "I am sorry, it is just a little strange to finally meet you, or any person, really, but don’t get me wrong, it is great." his smile grew even wider. – "I’ve been hearing so much about you guys that it was really about time to get to talk to you."  


Clarke couldn’t shake the feeling that she should know who this boy is, yet she simply couldn’t place him among the survivors.  


"I should probably tell you who the hell I am. Dad said I should start with that or I might get punched by the first person I ever talk to who is not my parents." – Jordan rambled on. – "I mean, you are like dangerous and all."  
"You mind?" – interrupted Bellamy, clearly having a problem even following Jordan’s train of thoughts.  
"Right, sorry. As I was saying I am Jordan, Jordan Jasper Green. Pleased to meet you!" – he extended his hand to Bellamy who took it with wariness. – "I am Monty and Harper' son."  
"What?" – Clarke still half believed that her brain was playing tricks on her.  
"Yeah. Things didn’t go exactly as planned so you might have slept a little longer than 10 years." – said Jordan still smiling. – "The best is if Dad explains it all, he just thought that seeing me first might be less shocking. He wanted me to prepare you."

It really made no sense to Clarke, and she only half-listened the chatty boy as they followed him to the control room.

As the doors slid open, Clarke took in the two people facing them with warm smiles and gasped.

Monty and Harper.

Maybe she should have listened to Jordan’s monologue before. Her two friends looked like they could almost be her own parents age. Harper already sported a few gray stripes in her long hair and the prominent lines on Monty’s face told her they must have aged a good 20 years overnight.

"Good Morning!" – Harper approached with such a motherly expression that even Bellamy felt like no matter what the woman told him, he will have to go with it. – "We made some breakfast ready, your bodies need some nutrients after cryo."

She gestured towards the table that was laid for 5, in the middle various fruits, vegetables and home-made bread piled onto a large plate. Jordan happily bounced over to the table and grabbed a piece of bread before he even took a seat. Both Monty and Harper just waited for Clarke and Bellamy to move, or at least say something.

"How?" – was the only thing Bellamy managed.  
"Let’s just sit down. You eat and we explain." – He shot a fatherly glance at Jordan, who was already digging in, and he just grinned back. 

Something told Clarke that Harper might have been the stricter parent; as soon as Jorden caught her sharp look, he stopped stuffing his face.  
While Clarke and Bellamy slowly took some of the food Monty begun explaining the last years’ events.

*** 

Clarke was wandering on the empty corridors of the ship. She told the others she was going to check out Earth room, that Monty described them as a mini-Farm Station that he managed to salvage and develop a little after him and Harper put everyone else to sleep. He mentioned that searching all the things Wonkru and the few prisoners brought with them on board right before fleeing the exploding valley he found leafs and half eaten plants in packs or in pockets of clothing. His proudest achievement was to root some broken branch and nurture it into the last remaining tree from Earth.

Clarke was sure Kane will get a kick out of it once they wake him. Monty named his tree Vera.

She was not prepared for the sight – but on a day like that, she was just going to go with whatever came her way. 

Earth Room was massive. Monty removed several walls as well as the ceiling and in the middle of a rather jungle looking greenery stood tall and proud a tree that was 125 years old, looking strong and regal. Clarke could barely see how its top branches were forced to bend to the side 5 floors above her.

After the initial shock of the Earth Room Clarke felt at peace sitting there for just a little, thinking of Earth and the unknown that awaited them on the strange planet with two suns. 

"WOW!" – she heard Bellamy exclaim as he appeared beside Vera. – "I know Monty is from Farm station, but this is …" - he trailed off.  
"He made a simulation on how the plants would grow under programmed irrigation and day-night simulation. It is really not that complicated. We just had to take down some walls." – Jordan sounded like he really thought that a small garden that lived on a space ship with no other maintenance than a computer program after Monty and Harper also took their place in the cryo-room was not a big deal.

Bellamy and Clarke exchanged smiles – Jordan couldn’t have been more Monty’s kid.

"So what do we do now?" – asked Bellamy.  
"I agree with Monty, we cannot wake too many of them yet. We have to find out if the planet is liveable first."  
"What about Eligius III?"  
"We don’t know if they even made it. And even if they did, there is no guarantee that they stayed, or that they survived."

He nodded and absentmindedly watched Jordan fill a casket with potatoes that Harper asked him to bring to the kitchen.

"So the usual crew?" – he added with a soft smile.  
"Yeah. But do we have to include Madi?" – Clarke was still not fan of her daughter being the interim commander.  
"We need to wake some of the grounders; Indra, Roan, Gaia, even Octavia will insist that she has to be part of it. They did the same when we choose cryo for everyone."  
"Yeah, like it was even a choice. Madi had no options." - grumbled Clarke under her nose.

Clarke was proud of Madi, she really was. But she wished with every cell of her body that Aden miraculously healed himself in cryo-sleep so her daughter can go back to the happy-chirpy twelve year old she was supposed to be.

*** 

Later that night she was walking along rows of cryo-beds wondering about the future. They decided to wake about 20 people the next day. The team would have two days to brainstorm about what to do next before the ship is set to orbit the new planet. Monty wanted Raven to look through all the communication systems with him, so they can attempt to find out if there were people on the ground.

Clarke stopped at Aden’s cryo-bed and took in his features, remembering the moment he stepped out of the bunker after 6 years of isolation.

_Clarke was anxious about opening the bunker. What will they have to face? Her mind playing the image of the false bunker she opened with Jaha, hunderds of human remains scattered on the floor of the main hall._

__

_She shake her head to free it from the horrible thoughts that flooded her mind and took in the first figure that was lifted to the surface: a young blond man with prominent muscles but thin face and a regal stance._

_Aden was pale and the bright light of the sun blinded him for seconds, and by the time his eyes could adjust, a body slammed into his._

_"Aden!" – came Clarke’s voice through the brightness._

_Aden was dizzy – a common occurrence in the last weeks, and the strong hands that embraced him also kept him from losing his balance._

_It wasn’t long after they retrieved the last of Wankru that Clarke had to watch the now respected and loved Commander to collapse to the ground. Octavia, who earned her place as General in the guards was beside him in no time as well as Abby and Indra, and 3 small children were holding on to each other strongly, visibly scared of what they witnessed._

_It took Abby and everyone by surprise that all tests came out suggesting that Aden hasn’t barely eaten in weeks._

_"How is that even possible, Mom? He is not extremely thin like he was starving or anything."_  
_"A few weeks ago we had some problems with supplies." – she admitted sadly. – "we had enough to survive for a few month, but stricter rules were implemented when it came to rashons."_  
_"He is the damn commander!" – exclaimed Clarke. – "Don’t tell me he drew the shortest stick and didn’t get food."_  
_"Of course not! His diet might have been limited, but everyone was given fair nutrients."_  
_"So how do you explain his condition? He is barely breathing, and you said he might not even make it since we don’t have the equipment to get some food in his system."_  
_"I am not sure. It seems like he just stopped taking his rashons from one day to another. It would explain how his body hasn’t had the time to adopt and start using its reserves such as his muscles."_

_That was when Clarke remembered the 3 little boys, shaking with fear._

_"I’ll be right back!" – she said and stormed out of the medical tent they kept Aden in._

_It didn’t take her long to locate the boys, and it brought simile to her face seeing Madi trying to make them eat some berries that the boys eyed with reluctance. They never saw real berries since they were born in the bunker._

_It took her some convincing but with Madi’s help she managed to get them talk and she found out that their parents were part of the rebellion that Aden had to strike down 3 years ago – and solidifying his reign as commander in the process. The rebels were responsible for the death of all the Nightblidas and stopping them cost many lives including the children’s mothers, but their fathers were pardoned along with a handful other suspects. It only turned out to be a mistake a few weeks ago when they tried to assassinate the commander and failed._

_After their executions the boys faced serious bullying and some of the older kids started taking their rashons. Many adults resented the children even though they had nothing to do with the attack and did not reprimand the others even when they saw them taking their food._

_As a result Aden started to share his rations with them in secret, but feeding 3 mouths besides his own ended up with him barely ever eating any more._

_Clarke came out of her pensive state at Aden’s pod, feeling grateful that although they couldn’t find a solution yet to get nutrients into his bloodstream, at least cryo kept him alive._

*** 

The next morning both Clarke and Bellamy stood in the Cryo room with happy anticipation as the chosen beds were defrosting and sleepy people filled the rooms.

"Morning, baby girl!" – Clarke cooed by Madi’s pod.  
"Hi Clarke! You are already up!" – and Clarke chuckled; Madi was happy to see her and so she forgot to call her out on calling her baby.

All of them gathered in the control room, everyone taking a seat. Before they could even start a conversation the doors opened again, and three people walked through the threshold, nodding towards Clark and Bellamy.

"Holly motherfucker!!! – came the first coherent comment form no other than Jasper Jordan. "Dude, you're ooooold!"

People started to laugh a little, still confused by the middle aged Harper and Monty, while some of them eyed the young man that looked awfully similar to the both of them standing a bit off the side openly staring at Jasper.

"Yeah, well, maybe I will finally get the respect I deserve." – Monty smiled back.  
"Yeah, right." – Jasper just laughed as he embraced his best friend.

He also went along to give Harper a hug and then faced his namesake.

"And you are?"  
"Jordan. As far as I know you are my godfather." – he grinned. – "Well, I guess you haven’t said yes to that yet considering they couldn’t ask you…" - he trailed off  
"Yeah, about that." – injected Monty. – "How do you feel about being a godfather?"

He was smiling, but they could tell he was a little nervous.

"Of fucking course!" – Jasper almost yelled. – "Someone has to teach him how to handle the ladies when he finally gets to meet one!"  
"No offence, man, but that I’d rather he learned from someone else." - smiled Monty

The rest of the team laughed out loud and everyone settled down to finally get some explanation from Monty. He had an almost grown up kid after all, so they grasped by now that some things changed while they slept.

"So what do we do now?" – asked Raven with a bit of excitement.  
"I would like your help going through the basic systems on the ship, make sure everything works properly before we reach the orbit tomorrow. We will have to be able to use all of what we have to be able to determine if the planet is liveable and, well, to find out everything we can about it. Maybe Shaw is willing to help out with it too?" – Monty looked at the pilot hopefully.  
"He will!" – the response came from Raven and Shaw just flashed her a smile.  
"Alright, so that is settled."  
"In the meantime" – Clarke stepped in. – "the rest of us will try to come up with various scenarios – as many as we can – so hopefully we will not be completely blindsided when we finally find out more about this planet."  
"Meaning?" – asked Murphy with a lot milder interest in the plan than Raven.  
"Meaning what if there are people down there? How we approach them? What if there aren’t? What if the planet is not liveable?"  
"What if there are aliens?" – Jordan pitched in and received a wide grin from his newly established godfather.

Everyone set to work, and Clarke would have lied if she said she didn’t enjoy seeing her favourite people engage in serious and not so serious conversations about what might be waiting for them. 

She didn’t even realise that they talked an laughed through the night – maybe sleeping 125 years takes a bit of adjusting – until Shaw announced that he will take the ship off of its course and starts the manoeuvre to lock them into orbit around the planet.

As soon as he signalled Raven that he was done, the girl ceremoniously lifted her eyes to the group and as they nodded she pressed the button of the radio.

"This is Raven Reyes! Can anybody hear me? Over."

She released the button and they all held their breath listening to nothing but static.

"This is Raven Reyes! Can anybody hear me? Over." – she repeated.

Static.

Just as she reached for the button again, the radio started to crack and everyone’s eyes bulged.

"This is ….. shskrt"  
"Oh my god!!!" – exclaimed Raven with wide eyes as she started typing frantically to try to clear the channel.  
"This is Raven Reyes! Please, repeat! Over!"

After a few seconds of cracking a strong and clear voice filled the silence of the people listening.

"This is Cade!"


	3. The ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are landing on Il'aye :)

Clarke and Indra were walking back to the command center, where Octavia was discussing the possibility of landing with Cade. As the automatic doors opened, they were both stopped in their tracks by the sound that filled the room. Indra’s face reflected a rare occasion when she does not try to hide her emotions and she broke out in a huge grin as she took in the sound of laughter.

Because it was not just an ordinary laughter. It was a laughter that none of them heard in years.

Octavia.

The young woman finally noticed them standing at the door, staring at her.

"What?" – she asked still smiling.  
"Nothing." – Indra smiled back. – "How are we doing with the landing."  
"I think we are almost good to go. Cade is looking up some coordinates to make sure we don’t accidentally crash into the dome."  
"The dome?" – asked Clarke.

Octavia noded.

"Yeah, he didn’t give much specifics, but apparently it is some sort of a defence system that can rip the ship in pieces if we are not careful."  
"And we are just going to believe him that they are not going to use it on us if we take the right coordinates?" – asked Clarke a little sceptically.  
"Well, we don’t really have much of a choice now, do we?" – Asked Octavia back with a smirk.

No, they didn’t have much of a choice. This was their only option and it had to work.

"Besides," - continued Octavia – "we all agreed that the first step is to get us to the ground. It is a lot harder to force us to leave once they allowed us to land."  
"I know, you are right. I just wish we didn’t have to depend on a bunch of strangers with a whole new culture once again." – Clarke said, giving a side glance to Indra.  
"At least you have some experience with screwing it up, Skaigirl. Maybe this time you could use that to our advantage?" 

Echo just walked through the door with Bellamy who was already giving her a scolding look for the comment, but both Clarke and Octavia knew that the grounders have warmed up to them in the last six years, and being referred to based on their former clan became more of an endearment by now.

 

In the end Octavia managed to make the agreement with Cade that they would land at given coordinates in the early hours the following day, trying to avoid being seen from their villages. He didn’t explain clearly, but it seemed like they wanted to keep their presence as much a secret from the rest of the settlements on Il’aye as possible.

They spent the evening discussing how many of them, and who should be part of the official landing unit that would try to negotiate with the locals.

"I am clearly going." – announced Octavia, and Clarke couldn’t help but notice just how strong and commanding her friend became. Nobody tried to talk her out of dangerous situations to protect her any more, she was the First General of the Commander after all.  
"I would propose Raven to join." – pitched in Monty.  
"Hell yeah, Monty can take care of any technical issue here, and Shaw will still be able to get them out of here if things go south. Sorry!" – she added looking at Shaw, but the guy seemed to be agreeing with the idea.  
"That makes sense, we need someone who can make assessments of their technology, but we cannot leave the rest without any brainiacs." – Octavia was smiling warmly at Monty.

Kane was observing from the side, but looking at Indra, he could tell that he was going as well.

In the end they slowly divided their awake people into two groups mostly without much disagreements. Harper categorically refused to allow Jordan to join the landing party, which only bothered Jordan himself. The all agreed that Abby should stay behind and only join the negotiations via radio, once they established some sort of agreement, and were ready to discuss tools and equipment they could use to save Aden.

The only real debate was about Madi, but considering that most of the people from the bunker learnt to stand behind the all-time commander, Clarke was quickly voted down. This technically created the spots for everyone, as both Octavia and Indra insisted on accompanying the commander. It left Roan, Bellamy and Echo in charge of the ship and they all knew from the start that Jasper just wanted to finally see the planet, however briefly.

 

When they started landing, they all stared in awe as they were approaching the surface of the planet. It was barely dawn, according to Cade the smaller sun was going to rise above the horizon within the hour. As they navigated following his instructions they came to experience the strange new world first hand.

Raven was just in the middle of complaining about why couldn’t they just fly straight to the meeting point when they spotted the first unusual sight. Just as their jaws dropped to the ground, Cade voice came through the radio sounding like a smug tourist guide.

"If you look to your left, you can enjoy the view to our smaller floating forest in its morning beauty."

The floating forest was incredibly beautiful, with its dark greenery and millions of white, slightly gloating flowers covering the lover canopy. The trunks were made of multiple thin branches instead of one massive, heavy body, and the way the wowed through each other it seemed like they were functioning as some kind of sliding parachute that allowed the upward winds to keep the trees in the air.

As they finally touched down on the ground in the assigned clearing, they all stared at each other for a second.

"All right, let’s do this." – of course it was Jasper, who was already out of his seat, ready to roll.

They shared their good lucks and the small party of seven headed for the door.

Near the center of the clearing a sole person was waiting for them. He was covered in what looked like a high-tech full body armour, without one visible weapon on him.

"Oh god, is RoboCop back in fashion again?" – they heard Raven.  
"What?" – hissed Clarke.  
"Common! RoboCop? The sci-fi movie from the 1980s?"

Their skaikru members rolled their eyes in unison, but said nothing. Raven had a disturbingly broad recollection of movie anecdotes from before the bombs fell, and never missed the opportunity to mention them whenever she could.

"Stop!" – came Cade’s commanding voice through the intercom of his helmet as they were approaching him.

 _‘Will we ever actually hear his own voice without some device disturbing it?’_ thought Octavia as the group stopped.

"I would like to demonstrate how our dome works, to make sure you do not eliminate yourselves by accident." – continued Cade.

He took a longer branch from the ground and walked a few steps ahead confidently. Raven was the first to notice something. "What is that shimmering in front of him?" she whispered.

Just as on cue, Cade lifted the branch, and moved it through the shimmering layer of air – or so it seemed. The tip of the branch that was touching the dome was turning into burnt dust, releasing a tiny puff of smoke.

"Unless you walk where instructed, you risk the possibility of walking into the dome, and as you can see, you do not want to touch it. So please, make sure that you follow my instructions." – said Cade. – "You find a box two feet to the right from you with a couple of bracelets. Please, each of you put one on."

Jasper immediately jumped over to the box and happily placed a metal bracelet on his wrist before Octavia could voice her concern.

"What are these for?"  
"They are our protective bracelets."  
"Why do we need to be protected?" – Asked Madi a little alarmed.  
" _You_ don't, little one. They are protecting us." – explained Cade with what sounded like a smile. – "They do not harm you," - he turned to the paling Jasper – "but once activated, I am able to stimulate your nervous system enough to, let’s say, make you stop doing whatever it is you are doing."

Although his voice was light, they understood that they are probably very lucky to be granted a landing. Octavia voiced just that morning that if she was in charge on the ground, she would never allow an unknown ship land without more information, especially if that said ship could be assumed to be carrying a bunch of high profile prisoners.

After they reluctantly put on their bracelets, Cade opened the dome with what looked like a very thin tablet and led them through a patch of forest and into a fort-like building.

"Welcome to Lake Valkyrie Security Center." – announced Cade as he lead them into a conference room. 

At the window a man around Kane’s age was waiting for them.

"Good Morning! My name is Orin. I am the Chief of the First Interplanetary Colony."

Octavia stepped forward to shake the men’s hand, not wanting to see how their group struggled to figure out, who is supposed to take the leading role. As much as they talked their situation through a million and one times, they forgot to establish a certain order in their ranks for this meeting. Madi was definitely not supposed to lead the negotiations, Clarke was out of touch with most of them for 6 years now, and although Kane was probably the best candidate, he learned his place behind his commander too well to step up on his own.

"I am Octavia, head of our security detail."

She went on introducing each of them and they all took a seat with Cade and Orin taking the head of the table.

"I am sorry to keep you waiting a little further." – started Orin. – "But I am not in liberty any more to lead such negotiations."  
"Didn’t you say you are the head of this place?" – asked Raven in a very Raven-like manner.  
"Yes, however, as you can see, I am not the youngest any more, and many of my duties are slowly placed on the shoulder of my successor." – there was a proud gleam in his eyes. "Even if she was not going to become the next Chief, our head of external affairs has proven herself to be an extraordinary negotiator. I mean, she can stop wars."

Just as he was finished talking about the unknown woman, they heard a light knock on the door, and a young man peeked in.

"Sir, she just logged in at the main door."

Both Orin and Cade got out of their seats, and headed for the door.

"Please, give us a second, we will be right back." – said Orin quickly as he left the room, not even closing the door after himself.  
"This was strange." – commented Jasper.

They didn’t have much time to start up a conversation, as loud voices came through the half-ajar door.

"ARE YOU BOTH OUT OF YOUR MINDS?"

The voice sent shivers down Clarke’s spine.

"You had no authority to approve any of this, Orin. There is a good damn reason that I am in charge of external affairs, and you are the one who insisted I took it years ago."  
"Well, Miss Bitchy Voice is rather unhappy, I would say." – joked Raven, while the conversation continued on the other side of the door.  
"I know and it was a great decision. I am not trying to take any of it back. You are ready to take over far more than you are handling now." - tried Orin cautiously.  
"Then why didn’t you wait until I get back?"

There was a second of silence before the woman spoke again.

"Oh Cade!" – she sounded disappointed.  
"O? Didn’t you say he talked to his superiors about the landing?" – asked Clarke quietly.  
"I though he did." – came the response.  
"They seemed harmless. They answered everything I wanted to know."  
"Cade, for god’s sake! That is exactly what happened with Eligius V." - exclaimed the woman once again  
"I know. But not everyone always turn to history when they are in a real life situation, Nir." – he fired back.  
"Don’t get me started on this, Cade. I love you, but this is stupid and you know it. We have been at war with the first arrivals for over a century now."  
"We are not anymore, thanks to you." – Orin tried to step in to calm the heated conversation a bit.  
"It is a cease fire, not a peace treaty, Orin." – the woman’s voice was strong and they almost flinched even if they were not the recipients of the talk. – "How could you not think about this, Cade? You are in charge of our security systems, you should be able to recognise threat, not allow a ship, which, for all we know carries hundreds of high profile criminals from Earth! Didn’t you think of Kenai?"  
"Of course I did. I always do." – he sounded defeated.  
"All right," - she sounded a lot softer – "there is nothing we can do now. Let’s just see how it goes, okay?"

The two man probably nodded, and the sound of footsteps was followed by the door being pushed open.

The women walked in and slowly looked over the small group standing around the table.

The air froze as soon as the team laid eyes on the young woman. Clarke could barely breathe, and everyone else was rooted in place.

"Good day! My name is Nira. I am the Chief Interim of the Colony."

The young woman was the spitting image of Lexa.

Her introduction was followed by silence and Cade was looking between Nira and the new comers with aconcerned expression. Nira also seemed to be getting uncomfortable in the situation, but before she could voice her concern, Octavia (once again) snapped out of it and took a few stepps forward.

"Octavia, First General of the Commander, Head of Security." – she said as she shoke the woman’s hand. – "And just for the record, there is maybe like a handful of those criminals on our ship that you were referring to the rest is rather harmles."

Nira just nodded slightly.

"So who might be this Commander you mentioned?" – she asked in the same, commanding voice that she used with Cade a few minutes before as she eyed mainly Kane, like she assumed it would be him.  
"I guess Miss _Commander Bitchy Voice_ is more appropriate." – whispered Raven.

The comment finally broke through to Clarke who sent a glare towars her friend.

"Right, sorry, too soon."

In the meantime Madi took a few steps towards Nira and Clarke’s mother instinct kicked in as she followed close behind.

"It is me. My name is Madi." – She tried to sound just as strong as Nira, but the woman’s presence was intimidating.

Nira looked at her quizzically and shifted har gaze to Clarke, whose hand was protectively place on Madi’s shoulder.

"Am I going to negotiate with a child?" - she asked sceptically.  
"There is much, you don’t know about us." – it was Indra who finally found her voice, and stepped to the other side of Madi, mirroring Clarke’s protective stance.

After another beat, Nira nodded.

"Allow me to gather some food and drinks for us, and we shall begin. I will have to ask you to keep to block D, the one that we are currently in." – she said it and it sounded more of a command than a polite request. – "We do not want you to accidentally walk into a part of the dome, are we? Cade will be at your service with whatever you might need."

She smirked and turned to leave, with Cade instantly being by her side.

"Nir?" – said Cade quietly, gently reaching for her arm, before the woman reached the door.  
"We are fine, Cade." – she answered in a much softer voice than ever before. – "I am just gonna step by the care center to give a quick kiss to Kenai and I will be back. We will figure this out, okay?"

She smiled at him as she put her hand on his chest.

"Give him a kiss from me too." – Cade said and stepped away from the woman.

The sight made Clarke’s heart ache. This girl was a carbon copy of the woman she loved and lost and yet, she had no right to feel any kind of jealousy. This was not Lexa and she had to remind herself of that, as her brain was already playing tricks on her.  
She quickly walked to the door, hoping that block D had a small patch of yard with fresh air.

"Clarke?" – it was Kane.  
"I am fine. I just need some air." - said Clarke quickly and left the room.

She ended up on a bench in the small yard at the end of the hallway, trying to wrap her head around the fact that she will have to spend the next hours talking to a woman that looks like the love of her life, and yet who doesn’t know her or any of them at all, and assumes that they are all criminals.

"You should start heading back, we are about to start."

The voice startled Clarke out of her racing mind. She looked up, and found herself lost in the emerald green eyes that haunted her in her sleep. 

Nira’s puzzled look finally brought Clarke back to the present and for the first time she spoke.

"Right, of course."  
"So you can talk." – teased Nira as Clark was standing up from the bench.  
"Yeah. Sorry about earlier." – Clarke didn’t know why she felt like she needed to apologise.  
"It is fine, I guess it is normal to stare at new people where you come from.

Clarke could tell that Nira couldn’t quiet decide if it was in fact some cultural difference or some funny thing she could tease about.

"It’s not that. You are just reminding me of someone I used to know." – Clarke confessed quietly.  
"Someone special?" – Nira’s expression softened, like she understood the implication.  
"Yes, very much so."  
"Maybe one day we will be close enough that you can tell me all about her."  
"Maybe one day…" - Lexa’s words rang in Clarke’s ears as they walked into the building together.


	4. Shall we stay?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please, comment :)

The negotiations were going slow but steady. Nira was a reasonable, but fierce leader, which, given the circumstances did not surprise anyone. She seemed to warm up to Madi incredibly soon, and had the most compelling conversations with the girl. Most of the people did not exactly understand the flame or knew Madi that well, but Clark found herself smiling while watching some of the ping pong between the two. She could almost tell when Madi was listening to some inner voice to phrase a well placed argument.  
This must have been the closest she could have imagined Lexa and Nira engaging in a mind-blowing strategic discussion.

Octavia was the voice of reason when it came to security, and Nira granted her a series of privileges, as a token of good faith, provided that she had to, at all times, clear her presence and intentions with Cade.

“Oh, I bet she will be clear with her intentions when given the chance.” – murmured Raven under her nose, while Jasper nearly snorted beside her.

It got a silencing stare from no other than Madi, and to Clarke’s biggest satisfaction, the more confidence her girl drew from Lexa the more effect she had on everyone in the group.

Nobody needed to know just how much she actually agreed with Raven. Cade and Octavia definitely had a certain chemistry on those brief occasions the man joined them in the conference room. They were yet to actually meet him without his full body armour, and Clarke found herself curious of how he looked – although, she might have had different motives for that than Octavia.

Every time Cade as much as sat near Nira, Clarke wanted to rip the reflecting helmet of his head and smash it with it. Not that she would have admitted that to anyone.

 

***

 

By the end of the third day they negotiated a small piece of land with its own fresh water supply an even smaller farming land about one day walk from the Security Center, which was the north-east corner of the inhabited grounds of the First Colony, in return for combat training and historical and cultural lessons about Earth since the colonisation. Octavia was not completely pleased with the location, as they had no other access to the main land than through the colony’s territory, but Nira was not lenient in this matter.

Clarke kept quiet during most of the negotiations, as she found it difficult to keep up with Nira’s fast mind, while she stumbled over the easiest words. However, she had to face the touchy subject of Aden’s possible recovery at the end of what seemed to be the first preliminary agreement between the Colony and Wonkru.

“Is there any other subject you wold like to cover before we conclude these days with a formal contract?” – asked Nira and most of the group turned towards Clarke.

“Actually, there is one more topic that we wanted to discuss with you.” – started Clarke a little nervously. She wasn’t sure that mentioning Aden’s real title would be a good idea, so she hoped to avoid it, even if it felt a little dishonest. “One of our people is kept in cryo in order to keep him alive. He is severely malnutritioned, and we do not have the equipment to get the necessary vitamins and nourishment into his system. We were wondering, if we could get some help with his case.”

Nira held Clarke gaze for longer than it would have been polite and Clarke could already feel her face flush under the scrutiny.

“Why is this man important?” – Nira asked cautiously, and Clakre already knew that they should have waited with the topic until after the first agreement.

“All of our people are important” – she tried to fire back.

“Yet you only involve him into this rather crucial negotiation of your future. What makes one person’s wellbeing equally important as reaching an agreement that you can settle on the last known planet that is livable for humans?”

The group fell into uncomfortable silence. They would prefer waking up their people with Aden ready to lead them. Wonkru was more loyal than ever, and there was a good chance that they would not accept Madi or her advisors for long.

Nira waited patiently for an answer, which came as a whisper from Madi.  


“He is the rightful commander.”

Nira’s face hardened into the unreadable mask many of them knew as a trademark of Lexa.  


“Are you saying that all these days were in vain?”

“No, of course not. He will honour of whatever we agree on.” – tried Clarke.

“You cannot possibly know that. He can just as well decide that our treaty is null and void and lead his own agenda.” – Nira’s voice was measured and threatening. It made Jasper shiver in his seat.

“Yes, I can” – came Clarke’s surprising strong response. It resembled the old Clarke, who could be Lexa’s equal in negotiations where everyone else has been scared away. “You do not know much about us, but I can guarantee you, that Aden will have a more thorough recollection of all that we talked about here than even you have. Whatever his interim agrees to, he will honour. He is bound by everything he believes in.”

Nira was almost smirking as she watched the fire in Clarke’s eyes, and part of her wanted to believe the strange woman.

“I am sorry.”- she said quietly. - “Even if I want to believe you, I cannot allow this just yet. He is a threat to our preliminary treaty, and it is in my people’s best interest that your daughter stays in charge at least until we have a stronger ground for this situation.”

Clarke had no other option than to nod. She did understand after all.

“Until all preparations can be made for starting your settlement, I would like to kindly ask you not to start waking your people up. I am in no liberty to let them wander around, nor do I want to feed hundreds in our security headquarters. I am sure you understand.” – Nira was mainly addressing Octavia, who could easily understand the reasons behind the request. “However, I would like to extend the invitation to the ones that are already awake. I gave orders to the guards at the gate you are using, that you have the liberty to move more freely. We opened up some quarters in block C, where you can stay overnight if you would like and use our common facilities together with the staff. You will be escorted to and from your ship, so I would like to ask you not to abuse this freedom. The ones that wish to return to the ship should all go at once, and return as a group as well.”

The group looked confused by the proposition, and Nira just smiled.

“We have some entertainment in the cafeteria, and I am trying to work out a way to allow you a visit to the nearest settlement over the weekend. There are some festivities that could serve well to introduce you.”

With that she walked out of the conference room to possibly get Cade to show them around.

“I don’t think it is a good idea to stay. What if it is a trap?” – it was Jasper to speak first.

“If it is a trap, we are already in it” – snapped Octavia.

“I think I will go back to the ship and update Abby and Bellamy” – said Kane in a calming voice. Octavia tended to lose patience with Jasper from time to time.

“I will join you and Jasper, we need to keep up some security around the ship while most of our people are out.” – said Indra, practically ordering Jasper back to the ship with her eyes.

“Madi will go with you.” – said Clarke.

“Clarke?” – it was the rare occasion when Raven was more concerned.

“No, no, no. I wanna stay with you” – Madi knew her well enough to see where this was going.

“You have been around danger long enough. You will go back, and spend some time with Jordan and my Mom.” – Clarke mom-voice had an impressive effect on the little girl. Of course she was moping, but she knew she could not with this, no matter who was the commander. “ we need to learn more about these people, their ways, their culture and I cannot do that while I worry about you.” – she said in a softer tone.

“I will go with her.” – said Octavia reassuringly and Clarke nodded gratefully.

“That leaves me and you, Clarkey!” – grinned Raven.

“Rae, you don’t have to…” – Clarke started.

“You don’t get to have all the fun by yourself, Princess. I need to see how you blush and bend under Commander Bitchy Voice’s pretty eyes.” – she winked and added before Clarke could retort: “We are not leaving you here all alone anyways.”

Clarke settled for a firm fist into Raven’s shoulder and they hugged goodbye to the others.

 

***

 

When Raven and Clarke walked into the cafeteria, the entire hall went silent. The colonist were informed about their presence by then, and they all eyed them with semi-hostile impressions. 

“Don’t worry, it will pass.” – came Nira’s voice behind them. “The last time new earthlings showed up, they burned a few settlements to the ground, so it will some time for us to warm up to you people.”

Raven audibly gulped and shared an uncertain look with Clarke.

“Comon, I know a little less scrutinising place for dinner.” 

Nira guided them through a few corridors and led them to some open-air benches. A few other people were already there, but they were less surprised by the new commers.  
Just as they started eating, Nira smiled at something behind the girls. Raven was the first to turn to inspect the approaching man, and her yaw nearly hit the ground.

“Holy marshmellow!” – she whispered, while the man came to sit next to Nira and pressed a light kiss to her cheek. “Lincoln?”

Clarke stared just the same, while the couple continued catching up like nothing happened.

“Kenai?” 

“I dropped him off at my fathers’. They were all going to watch some cartoons and have lots of candied limeange.” – he smiled knowing how Nira wanted to keep Kenai away from the sugary fruits.

“Even Danko?”

“I know you think he is the better granddad, but honestly, he was more excited than Levi?” – grinned Cade.

“Your dads are weird.”

It took a few seconds for them to break out of their domestic little bubble and notice their wide eyed visitors.

“What happened now?” – asked Cade, who remembered all too well Nira’s reception.

“We cannot tell O about this.” – it was Raven who found her voice first.

“And how do you propose we do that?” – asked Clarke sceptically. – “For all we know we will walk into our own doppelganger any minute now.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” – asked Cade a little louder to draw the girls actual attention to himself.

“You look eerily familiar without your fancy helmet on, dude.” – addressed him Raven.

Nira stayed quiet, but when her eyes met Clarke’s she understood.

 

***

 

Instead of mingling, Raven and Clarke just kept to themselves and enjoyed being under the clear sky once more. When they decided to call it a night, Nira escorted them to one of the rooms that was set up for Wonkru and Raven was out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Clarke could not fall asleep just yet, so she wandered back to the yard and took one of the hammocks. Watching the unusal constellations on the unfamiliar sky she thought about Nira and Lexa, and Lincoln and Cade. Nira was already a shock, but she could justify it by Raven’s quick lecture about old photos of identical people from different times. 

Having both Lincoln and Lexa return, even just in appearance was a little harder to wrap her head around. She thought about her dad, and Finn and wondered, just how many old faces might show up in this strange new world.

Her racing mind finally settled to a restless sleep and her dreams slowly directed themselves towards the one dream that haunted her from the moment Nira walked into that room a few days ago.

And just as every night since then, she woke screaming, staring at her hands that were not longer covered in black blood.

“Hey! You are okay. It was just a dream. You are safe.” – came the most calming voice that Clarke could ever wish for.

Nira was right next to her, putting a calming hand on her thigh. But Clarke was still not completely awake, and her hands few to the women’s stomach searching for a bullet wound that was not there.

“You died.” – whispered Clarke unsure.

“I am right here. I am not her, Clarke.” – said Nira soothingly.

Clarkes head snapped up from her stomach to her face, comprehension sinking in. 

She looked more embarrassed than before, tears welling in her eyes.

“Sssh! It’s okay!” – continued Nira as she pulled her into a hug.

Clarke hang on to her like she was a life west, repeating “I am sorry! I am so sorry!” while she sobbed into the shoulder of a practical stranger.


	5. Visitors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay :)  
> Please, let me know what you think!

Clarke was waiting at the gate before dawn, fidgeting while she and the guard were waiting for her people to radio in, so they can be escorted back to the Security Center. The only thing she did before rushing to the gate was telling a half-awake Raven that she was going back to the ship.

Raven knew something happened, but there was no way she could get a story out of Clarke just yet. So she nodded, and waited for the others – any other of Wonkru – to decide to come back and socialise. And, she spent the time waiting with coming up with excuses to why Octavia should remain by the ship as much as possible.

As it turned out, it was not necessary. Roan, Bellamy and Echo were happy to be given the opportunity to check out the establishment, and since Indra refused to let Bellamy interact with the colonists without supervision, it left Octavia to guard the ship.

Clarke spent the next days dodging any attempt from the others to come with them to the center, and Madi was fuming not so quietly to her new grandma, because if Clarke was not going, she was not going either.

Raven, however, tried her best to keep people from pestering Clarke and meddle enough that Indra would take care of anything that had to be done in LVSC.

Five days later Raven managed to convince Harper to allow Jordan into the Center accompanied by Jasper, Indra and Bellamy, so he can finally meet some of the colonists.

Everyone thought that Jordan and Jasper must have messed something up when the group returned barely two hours after leaving.

“Raven? What happened?” – asked Clarke rushing out of the ship.

“Nothing bad, I promise.” – she said, but she eyed Clarke carefully. – “We will just have some visitors soon.”

Jordan and Jasper were proudly smiling behind Raven, while Clarke’s face went from worried to uncomfortable. She understood immediately that no matter who the visitors were, Nira would be one of them.

“Cade too?” – she asked quietly, glancing behind her.

“I think so.” – answered Raven in a low voice and Clarke’s questioning expression made her continue. – “Orin was around again, and got into some exciting conversation with Jordan. Before any of us even realised, he invited him, Nira and of course a few guards as a sign of our respect.”

“And Indra just let him?”

“Well, he did get a good smack in the head once we were out, but she couldn’t exactly withdrew the invitation. That would have implied that Jordan was just a stupid kid, and we do not actually trust them.”

Clarke glanced over to Indra, who was rather angry and has already barking orders at any Wonkru member she could find to secure the ship. 

Just as they managed to set up a few tables in front of the ship – they figured a picnic in the nice weather is a good enough idea to disguise the fact that they did not intend to let the visitors inside the ship – when they heard them approach.

The party consisted of Orin, Nira and three soldiers, who looked a little unhappy about their order at the moment. Clarke and Raven exchanged a look, noticing that Cade was not with them.

Jordan and Jasper quickly took on the warm welcoming committee’s job and by the looks of it they already managed to make a new friend of one of the guards. The other two was following with stone hard expression, but the aforementioned guard seemed a lot more at ease with the two goofballs.

“Hey!” – Nira greeted Clarke softly, while Raven just watched them from the distance.

“Hey!” – Clarke allowed a little smile.

“We brought some food.” – Nira pointed at the bags the soldiers carried and were now being emptied by Harper and Echo. – “Considering that we are still feeding you, I assumed the invitation was merely a formal one.”

“Well, if you came empty handed, we would be very happy to show our root collection that my mother selected from the plants around the ship.” – said Clarke and Nira grinned.

Clarke found it a lot easier to talk to Nira than she made herself believe while keeping to the ship.

“So, am I finally able to meet your mother? She has been mentioned by every member of your people once or twice, but I am yet to meet her.”

“She is on her way out, I am sure.”

And just as on cue, Abby walked off the ramp with Madi in tow.

Madi run up to Clarke immediately and smiled brightly at Nira, while Abby slowly followed, staring at Nira with a close-to-hostile expression.

“I assume she was not a big fan of my doppelganger?” – she whispered to Clarke as she watched Abby.

And Clarke chuckled.

“Not exactly.”

“Dr Griffin! It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Your people have great respect for you.” – Nira started while extending a hand to Abby, effectively surprising the woman. – “I am Nira, Interim Chief of the Colony.”

Clarke just watched in awe. Compared to Lexa, Nira was a charmer. She was more open, and having seen her in political negotiations, Clarke made a mental note just how dangerous Nira could actually be. In her political stance, she was just like Lexa, but while Lexa believed in hideing her emotions and thus seem insensitive, Nira was the complete opposite. She was a strategist, but she knew very well how to use her interpersonal skills to her own favour.

“Hi!” – said Abby warily. – “It is nice to meet you too.”

Abby kept looking between Clarke and Nira, but, just like everyone else besides Madi, she was keeping a little distance with the woman.

It left Clarke and Madi chatting with Nira, while Jordan and Jasper, accompanied by Monty, were slowly getting all the guards to warm up to them. Kane and Indra were having an animated conversation about their three realities and how the mix of their cultures will be interesting to see.

Octavia was mainly smiling at the three older leader’s conversation, and as they were digging into grounder history, she offered to show Orin her sword that granted the survival of all the clans when Praimfaya destroyed the planet.

Clarke knew something was up as her eyes caught Raven’s surprised expression. As she followed her gaze, she saw a single man walking casually on the trail leading to the ship.  
Cade.

Nira caught up quickly to the silent exchange between Clarke and Raven and since she didn’t get to discuss who Cade reminded them of because Clarke did not return after the first night spent at the compound she decided to voice her question.

“I know I remind you of someone important, but who is Cade reminding you of, and why are both you and Raven so afraid that Octavia can see him?”

She barely finished her question when a now familiar stunned silence filled the small clearing. Clarke watched Indra – always so strong and stoic – stare at the man, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. 

The sudden silence made Nira to look around and she took in all the different reactions to Cade. Bellamy looked like he was haunted by a ghost and was paling rapidly, Kane eyes darted around the group in panic, and Nira was sure he was looking for Octavia, and Raven was smiling softly at the man, who was once again caught by surprise.

“What?” – Cade aske into the silence, but just like Nira, he didn’t get an answer.

The silence was broken by the loud noise of a sword being dropped on the metal surface of the ramp, and Octavia, who was the first to recover in any strange situations so far was rooted in place, and for once, Clarke knew exactly how she felt.

Part of Clarke was relieved that the truth was out, as they could all feel that Nira’s appearance put Octavia on edge. Clarke wondered if Octavia wished she could see Lincoln the way Clarke got to see Lexa again.

“Octavia?” – asked Cade carefully.

He didn’t know what was going on, but the normally lively and strong Octavia looked at him in a way that he almost questioned her mental health.

“What are we staring at?” – came a loud whisper from Jordan, and was quickly shut down by Madi’s ice-cold stare.

It was enough though to break Octavia out of her trance. She picked up her sword, handed it to Indra, and took off into the woods. Cade followed her in an instant and Clarke looked at Nira concerned, but the woman seemed at ease with what just happened.

“I should go, and check on them.” – said Clarke and Raven just nodded.

If there was anyone who could help Octavia in this situation, it was Clarke.

She barely reached the tree-line when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Do you mind if I join you?” – asked Nira.

“No, of course not.” – answered Clarke, thinking that maybe Nira came to her senses, and was finally concerned that her husband just took off after a strange woman.

Clarke was not exactly prepared for the sight that they found.

O and Cade were standing in a strong embrace, their foreheads touching and they seemed to be in their own bubble. Just as Cade lifted his hand up to wipe away the tears from Octavia’s face, the small women buried her face in his broad chest, and Cade held on to her like his life depended on it.

Clarke felt bad for Nira. This simply wasn’t a situation she would have wanted to see her own partner in, but she found nothing but fondness in Nira’s eyes as she watched the pair.

“This doesn’t bother you?” – asked Clarke sceptically.

“No, why would it? They seem to be getting on so well. There is just something about their chemistry.”

Clarke stared dumbstruck.

“But he is your husband.” 

“Our definition of marriage is not the same as what it was in the old world, Clarke.” – said Nira finally understanding Clarke’s confusion. “It serves a higher purpose.”

Clarke still felt like she was missing something, but she let Nira guide her away from Octavia and Cade.

“Wanna hear the story?” – asked Nira, and it was clear in her eyes that history was her favourite for a reason.

“Sure.” – smiled Clarke at the eager woman.

“It all goes back to the first colonists. As you probably know, they were all treated with Nightblood to be able to endure radiation in space.”

Clarke nodded. It was discussed with Orin at one point how all Eligius expeditions got the treatment.

“Well, what you might not know is, that the scientist who perfected the method, Dr Rebecca Sullivan" - Clarke quirked an eyebrow; _Becca Pramheda?_ \- "had a brother, who believed that all those experiments were going to end the world. He begged Becca to allow him or at least his kids aboard one of the Eligius ships, but she refused. Kids were only allowed on the ship if they were with their guardians, and all the adults had a specific place in the expedition. Her brother was a drifter, and no use for any of the farming or scientific work the colonist were about to do on arrival.”

Nira’s eyes were shining just by having a pair of ears listening to her about her beloved subject, and Clarke couldn’t help smile at her enthusiasm. She had to admit, that she found it endearing how geeky Nira was, and it set her apart from Lexa in, a surprisingly positive way.

“Becca didn’t completely abandon him though, and she got him a job at Eligius as a genitor, which in the end enabled him to have access to the building the ship was set up for departure. After the final checks the day before launch, he managed to get his kids into two spare cryo-pods on a lower level of the ship, and they were only discovered when the ship was leaving the Solar System by the maintenance crew, whose job it was to double check the entire system before they all took their cryo-nap. They were too far to return, and decided that two small kid cannot influence the success of the mission. And those kids ended up saving us all.”

“Sweet as it all sounds, but how does this relate to your innovative-marriage definition?” – asked the amused Clarke.

“Right, I am getting there.” – smiled sheepishly Nira. – “So, when the colonists arrived at Il’aye, they were all injected with nightblood, except for Becca’s niece and nephew. The first few years the colony was struggling as expected, but once they had a functioning settlement up and running, they started to have kids again. And the shocking reality came crushing down on them in, as a new disease appeared that attached babies between the age of 6 month to 12 month old.. Year 3 brought thirteen children to the world, and by the time the disease took the first victim, five more was on the way. None of them live to turn one. In year four they lost 11 babies in addition to losing some of the adults to some illnesses, and mainly accidents. By year 7 a total of 32 children died of the same unknown disease and our scientist had no lead on how to stop it, since there was not one survivor.”

Clarke was now lost in the story, and for a second she believed the worst, only to remember that something must have interfered with the course of their lives, because they were still here.

“By then nobody was willing to have children and they did everything to prevent pregnancies. Many believed that the colony failed. And then Becca’s nice got pregnant by accident, and by then the chief had to take abortion out of possibilities. If they didn’t want to give up, they had to find a way to find a cure or an antidote. So the first and only child of year 7 had to be born.”

Clarke could feel that this had to be the turning point of the colony’s history.

“Although the father was treated with nightblood, the baby was born with his mother’s crimson blood, and it turned out that our earthling body was the key. He got sick, just like all the other kids, but after two weeks he was healthy again. And he became the symbol of hope for the colony. The scientist were able to create a vaccine, and the 100% death ratio is pushed down to a mere 2%. Later it turned out that some of the parents with nightblood treatment could also have Crimson Children, who are still a big minority of our population, but they represent hope, and they are more resilient to this world.”

“Hahh, it seems like grounder and colonial culture is more similar than we expected.” – murmured Clarke mainly to herself.

“What?”

“Nothing. Please, continue! I am still waiting for the marriage explanation.” – said Clarke teasingly.

“Oh, yeah. Well, we are just coming to that part right now.” – Nira tried to save it. – “During the first 7 years the population decreased dramatically, and even with the vaccine, there was a more than 10 year age gap in the colony. Eligius refused to put kids younger than five into cryo sleep.” – added Nira. – “So the Population Maintenance programme was introduced, that basically requires all members of the colony to make sure that they have a mini-me.”

“You are forced to have kids?” – asked Clarke shocked.

“No. We simply have to be able to document a child as our replacement. We call them our avatars.” – she grinned.

“Avatars?” – Clarke was gaping.

“Yes. This is where marriage comes into place. In our world marriage is a contract, an agreement between people that they will cooperate in the PMP together. It can be between two or more individuals, or individuals and couples. The main thing is that when you turn 18, you are automatically placed in the PMP and you are kindly asked to do your duty to the community within the next 15 years. If you do not want children on your own, you can make an agreement with a couple who have more than two and register them as your avatar. Many marry their best friend,” – Nira looked at Clarke pointedly. – “because they know that they can trust each other. Taking emotions out of marriage made it possible for the parents to be more efficient. I married Cade and agreed to have children with him because I know that he will take care of our family. But I also know that none of us will turn into monsters because we sleep with other people. We are on the same page about this, and our society is supporting it. We have families where 4 adults raise children and nobody cares who is biologically theirs. We have Cade’s fathers, who raised 4 children, and know their two birthmothers exist somewhere down south. And they are happy.”

Clarke was amazed. She was still not sure what to make of Cade and Nira’s relationship as they were clearly close, but she loved the system. She saw what broken families did to children especially on the Ark, where they could not share their problems with a sibling.

As they made their way back to the ship, Clarke was lost in thoughts. Il’aye was not a place she could have imagined before.


End file.
